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1789. Account of A Tour through Sweden, Swedish Lapland, &c. 461

conducted his fair adulterefs to a coach, in which he conveyed her to a private lodging, previously prepared for her reception.

Mr. Wd when he first miffed his wife at the masquerade was surprised, though not alarmed by any fufpicions of the real caufe of her abfence. He returned home, She was not there-he flew back to the mafquerade, fhe was not there-the night paffed away without any tidings of her, and the morning found him in a ftate of diftraction. He feared his friend and wife had been murdered; but having employed proper persons to make enquiry, in a very fhort time he was convinced of the treachery which had been practifed on his good nature. A confidential relation having difcovered the retreat of the lovers, gained admiffion to their prefence, and received an open confeffion of the whole proceeding; the Gallant Diftiller acknowledging not only the fcheme practifed at the masquerade, but that the criminal connection between him and Mrs. W—d had fubfifted for near four years, and that the youngest of Mrs. Wd's children was the offspring of adultery. To all this the lady filently affented; her gallant adding, that fince he had feduced her from her hufband's bed, the should have his protection, and share what he poffeffed during life.

When Mr. W

-d recovered from the firft paroxyfms of grief naturally produced by this misfortune, he applied to the laws of his country for recompence. On the trial, it was proved that previous to the feduction of his wife he had lived with her in the utmoft felicity; and though the defendant produced witnesses who wore that he and the lady had repeatedly demeaned themfelves, in company, in a manner inconfiftent with decency, yet the jury, probably giving no credit to their teftimony, gave a verdict for three thousand five hundred pounds damages. Indeed, it must be observed that the judge in his charge declared that the cafe was marked with many ftriking circumftances of aggravation; and that the prefervation of the morals of fociety, independent of the injury Mr. Wd had fuftained, called for very exemplary damages.

The Gallant Distiller, notwithstanding this peculiar weight of punishment, continues, what he calls, his protection to the lady; but if we may judge from his ungene rous and hypocritical conduct to his friend, this boafted protection will not continue long.

Account of A Tour through Sweden, Swedib Lapland, Finland, and Denmark, in a feries of Letters. Illuftrated with Engravings. By Mattheairs Si

and Mr. Bowes, fet out from Ravensworth Castle, on the 24th day of May, 1768, and Shields, on board of the Gottenburgh Merembarked about fix the fame evening at chant, Capt. George Fothergill, and arrived at Gottenburgh on the 27th. This place is clean, neat and well built, the streets are regular and uniform, the houfes confift chiefly of wood, and are painted to town ftands upon a fwampy plain, which as to refemble brick and ftone. Part of the the other part on the declivity of a hill. as in Holland is interfected by canals, and The harbour is commodious and convenient. There are establishments here for feveral India company, and a herring fishery. The branches of commerce, particularly an East fort of New Elffburg, which is fituated on entrance of the harbour is guarded by the markets here are extremely well fupplied a fmall rocky island and garrifoned. The with neceffaries, which may all be procured trate of Gottenburgh is the burgo-mafte, at very moderate prices. The chief magi who regulates the markets, and has the civil direction of the town, in the fame manner as the mayor of corporate towns in England. From Gottenburgh, our travellers proceeded to Stockholm, when they reached on the 7th of June.

thor, we dined at a tavern, remarkable for
"The day after our arrival, fays the au-
dirt and bad accommodation. In the even-
ing we went to the Opera; the houfe is a
handfome building, magnificently lighted up.
His Majefty, the young Prince, and many
of the nobility were prefent. The dreffes
of the actors were fuperb; the performance
tavus I. befieging the city of Stockholm,
a Swedish historical piece, reprefenting Guf-
and routing the Danes out of the country.
A magnificent ftatue is erected before the
diet-house in memory of that prince, whom
the Swedes regard at this day as their deli-
verer from Danish tyranny.

mas Wroughton, who is the English minif-
The next day we waited upon Sir Tho-
ner refident at this court; a gentleman of
great politeness and affability, who fills that
and honour to his country.
department with much credit to himself,

On Saturday the 10th, we made a party
where may be feen the royal armory, co-
to view the citadel, an ancient building,
lours, and other trophies, worthy of obfer-
vation, taken by the military heroes of the
nation. The curiofities which we thought
fhirt, coat, boots and gloves, which be
moft remarkable were, Charles the Xi) •
wore at the time he was killed at

462 Account of A Tour through Sweden, Swedish Lapland, &c. Sept.

cravat, his boots very ftrong and long, with fquare toes and fteel spurs, his gloves made of very frong leather with ftiff tops; the hat alfo which he wore that day was thot through above the right eye; a fhot which killed him upon the ipot. Various are the conjectures, even to this day, concerning the fall of that rafh hero. It is furmifed with circumftantial probability that he fell by the hand of fome of his own army. It is certain, blood is ftill to be feen on the gloves, and the mark of his fingers is evident on his fword belt. It seems as if he had put his hand to the wound when hot, and immediately attempted to draw his fword to ftab, or defend himself against the affaffin. Undoubtedly he had involved his country in much debt, and many difficulties; but being of a turbulent fpirit (almoft bordering on madnefs) would not liften to the diftreffes and repeated folicitations of his injured fubjects. His premature death, therefore, may be thus accounted for without any improbability. He fell a martyr to his ambition."

Mr. Confett tells us, that the prefent King of Sweden is rather low in perfon, but well made and active; that it is very fingular, that one fide of his face does not at all resemble the other, that he delights much in military exerciles, and that he forms an annual camp in the neighbourhood of Stockholm, where he dedicates his time to military improvements.

After leaving Stockholm, our travellers purfued their journey through Upfal to Tornao, which is the chief town of Weft Bothnia, about three hundred and twenty miles north east of the capital, and fituated on a river of the fame naine, which ́rifes in Lapland, and running fouth eaft, falls into the gulph of Bothnia. The people here carry on a tolerable trade in furs with the Laplanders, their neighbours on the weft and north, and with the Finlanders, who inhabit the eaftern fide of the gulph.

As we always with to let authors fpeak for themselves as often as poffible, we hall extract part of another letter. It is dated from Pithia, June the 27th.

about the diftance of an English mile through a very thick wood, where we found their family in a tent or hut. This confifted of an old man, his wife, a young man and his wife with a very young child, probably about two months old. The infant was most curiously trussed up in a cradle or machine, almoft refembling a fiddle cafe, made of the thick bark of a tree, so formed that it exactly contained the babe who was fixed in it with a kind of a hraís chain, made fo portable and light that the mother might eafily carry it in one hand. This cradle, which is allo fometimes made of a hollow piece of timber like a fmall boat, the Lapland women when they travel, tie with the child in it, to their back. The child is not covered with bed clothes, but with a foft and fine mofs, over which they lay the tender fkin of a young reindeer. When they rock the child they faften the cradle with a rope to the top of the hut, and toffing it from one fide to the other, lull the child afleep. This Lapland family invited us to their tent, and offered us their common, and only fare, which confifts of deer's milk, and cheese made of the fame milk: occafionally they eat deer's Beth, but have no kind of bread. We prefented them in return for their civilities with fome wine, which they feemed to relish very much, but gave us to understand that brandy would have been more acceptable.

The Laplanders are a ftrong featured people, low in ftature, but fo conftitutionally hard as to bear the feverity of the moft inclement feafon. These people are generally born in woods, and are frequently upon the fnow, and wanderers from their birth to their life's end. Their huts are formed of pieces of timber or rafters joined together and covered with turf, or the branches or bark of pine trees, fo that architecture here may be faid to appear in its first rudiments. Sometimes coarse cloth makes a part of the covering of their tents. In fome places, we were told, that their houses were built upon the trunks of trees, raised above the furface of the earth, or upon a ftone foundation, to prevent, in those defolate regions, their being over-whelmed in the enormous drifts of fnow, or devoured by

wild beafts.

"The most northern point to which our journey extended was Tornao, from whence I have endeavoured to give you fome account of the inhabitants of this country. In fummer, the Laplanders wear a clofe We left that place yefterday, and though garment which reaches to the middle of our accommodations were not of the moft their legs girded clofe about them with a agreeable nature, yet they were rendered belt. They have no linen, but their clothes tolerable by the civility and politeness with are made in general of a coarfe wool withwhich we were entertained. We had not traout dying; their fhoes and caps of the skin velled far, before we were informed, that we of the rein-deer with the hair outwards. might have an opportunity of oblerving a In winter their clothes are of fkin with Laplander and his family, who were feeding the hair inwards. The women's apparel their herd of rein-deer at no great diftance. is not very different from that of the We got out of the carriage, and walked men.'

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1789. Tales, Fables, and Sentences extracted from different Authors. 463

It has been faid that this short tour which was performed in about three months, was undertaken in confequence of a wager made by Sir Henry Liddel, of going to Lapland, returning thence in a certain time, and bringing home two females of that country, and two rein-deer. Whatever truth may be in this report, it is certain, that Sir Henry brought two Lapland women, and two rein-deer to England. The women, after being fome time here, where they were confidered as great curiofities, were fent back to their own country with about fifty pounds in money which they looked upon as great riches.

Account of Tales, Fables, and Sentences extracted from different Authors, with an Analyfis of the Poem of Ferdously, on the Persian Kings, by the Tranflator of the Political and Military Infiitutes of Tamerlane. Paris.

M

R. Langles, the author of this tranflation, is the fame, as the title announces, who last year favoured the public with the "Inftitutes of Tamerlane, tranflated from the Perlian, and who has com. pofed a life of that conqueror, from the beft oriental writers. This gentleman intends alfo to publish a "Dictionary of the Mantchew Tartar language;" a new tranflation of the "Guliftan of Saadi," and a new edition of "Chardin's Travels,' with notes, extracted principally from the works of the orientals, and an examination of all the travels into Perfia by Europeans. This author, who has already diftinguifhed himfelf in the literary world by his erudition, and the number of his labours, is not yet twenty-four years of age.

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The mines of oriental literature, of which he has already fearched fome veins, appear to him to be replete with riches. Every fpecies of writing has been attempted by the Perfians and the Arabians, with more or lefs fuccefs. Hiftory alone, the greatest merit of which is correctnels and truth, which ought to know no other method of pleafing, but by its elegant fimplicity, and which in its ornaments ever ought to refemble nature, is not calculated for the exalted imaginations of the orientais; they would think their Ityle too humble and mean, did they not raise their flights fometimes to the clouds, Truth would appear to them deftitute of charms, did they not conceal its beautiful fimplicity, under the ornaments of fable. Wonderful expeditions, frightful revolutions, bloody wars, great virtues and atrocious crimes prefent rich materials for their, hiftorians; but they never collect them without mixing them with 11

in tales, and this talent they employ in their hiftories.

Langles, has given birth to the apologue, If the political fyftem of Afia, fays Mr. it is the climate and character of the natives, which have created poetry. In those delightful countries, where man readily finds enough to fatisfy his natural wants, he may give himfelf entirely up to meditation; the fields prefent to his view beauties which his heart is capable of relifhing. The charms of a fex, whom in the beginning he adores, and of whom afterwards he almoft always becomes the tyrant, without knowing how to govern them, excite in his bofom a pallion too ready to be inflated. The concurrence of all thefe objects inspire him with fentiments which ordinary language cannot exprefs. The imagination the voice affumes an animated tone, and, becomes heated, the thoughts are exalted, reprelenting the transports which ne feels, rapid harmonious expreffions, capable of are fought for: one is fenfible to the neceffity of being a poet, or rather one is fo by inftinct. The vivacity of their fenfations muft have engaged man to find words proper to exprefs them: it is therefore proba. ble, that the orientals compofed veries before they wrote in profe.

A fpecies of writing in which the Arabs and the Hebrews excel.ed, is, that kind of poems written in praile of fome great man or deity, which we call pfalms, becaufe when fung they were accompanied with an intru.nent. To this fpecies, may be referred the following piece, which Mr. Langles has tranflated from Ferdouffy, the Pertian Homer.

will it behold fuch a monarch. His court, Never hath the fpring beheld, nor ever like the firmament, abounds with delight, the ground fends forth the fmell of amber, the fiones are of gold, and an everlasting bloom reigns throughout it. His countenance, covered with fmiles, gives happiness to the world; no hill is fo exalted as his palace; no garden more extensive than the carpet upon which he fits. When I approached this monarch, his head feemed to be loft among the ftars; on his right he had an elephant, on his left a lion; the univerfe was his foot-flool; the clephant on his back carried a throne of gold, and the neck of the lion was ornamented with a precious collar. In the excess of my joy, I advanced towards this incomparable prince, and I then beheld a throne enriched with precious ftones, upon which was feated a fovereign beautiful as the moon.

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